OK, its a WWF meant for financial nerds. Schiller has done very well for the knowledge base of financial economics, in particular in terms of assessing property price cycles. Not too long ago, actually, over the past 2 years, when share prices moved north, Schiller came up with his own share price "index", which is really a ratio with his selected denominators. It appeared to be very convincing that the current share prices (for the past 2 years already) sems to be way overvalued and he basically barks at us that we needed to revert to the mean, i.e. massive downside prolonged correction.

I have always considered Schiller's ratio to be too simplistic but I cannot put my finger on it. Thanks to Reuters' very own Anatole Kaletsky (previously he was the highly respected economics editor/columnist for The Times), the explanation for debunking Schiller's ratio is utterly complete. This of course in now way suggests that the present markets globally is NOT overvalued - …

Omakase in Japanese means according to the chef's wishes. What he/she sees fit and best to be served that best exemplify their skills and produce selection.

A simple start, Japanese sweetened pickled barley on Japanese cucumber, refreshing. The beautiful colour of the uni indicates freshness laced with caviar. Plus a light vinegary sweet broth with some unique stems from a rare veggie which slips my mind for now.

A true test of any really good Japanese restaurant is to go sit at the main counter table and face the chef asking for omakase. I have had plenty of good Japanese dinners, even the renowned Ryugin and Kanda in Tokyo. However, my recent meal at Hanazen @ Jaya One tops the lot and that is no faint praise.

A palate cleanser of sorts, chilled young corn from Hokkaido, so sweet and crunchy like a fruit. This is only in season one month in a whole year, exceptional.

I have written about Hanazen before. They are eternally packed for lunch owing to their (not cheap) but very tasty a…

No amount of back data, simulation ... can predict future events accurately. All those who study statistical distribution and variance analysis can only guess at best. In much the same mould, are the experts' views and predictions about investments (mine included). Hence, take experts' views with a large bucket of sodium.

OK, with Brazilian supporters reeling, my friend at BFM said Samba became Sambal after being pounded to a pulp ... with something fishy, oh, its belacan ... and it goes very well with frankfurters. I did not regard Brazil as a threat as was discussed in my previous World Cup posting, they are like many Penang hawker food stalls, easy to champion but generally over rated.

The sporting world is so biased. If you had switched the jerseys, and the same people played, ending with Brazil winning 7-1, the reaction by most watchers and the media would have been ecstatic. But no, just because they were Germans, they were referred to as clinical, well drilled ...Thats a load of bs, if they played under the banner of Brazil, they would have been referred to as magical, tearing the defence apart, making them look like schoolboys, etc...

Fiscal measures announced by the European Central Bank, European equities should finish the year in a better shape despite increased volatility. The credible package of measures should nudge growth in the euro zone up a gear, as businesses should reap the benefit of easier access to funds, while the weaker euro would promote exports. On the flip side, some remained to be watchful of the current hunger for high yields on the part of investors, as there are echoes of the 2005-07 scenario in the market. Europe is still fighting deflation like most of the rest of the world (with the exception of emerging markets).

Some may cite low GDP growth as a basis for under performance of equity markets but as many studies have shown, there is no correlation with the stock market. This is largely due to its forward discounting valuation platform.

The UK markets stood out as the first European country to be adjusting its rate upwards in what is a fine balancing act on the part of the Bank of England, …

Music inspired by Wong Kar Wai's movies, or is it the other way around. Methinks in most cases, Wong fell in love with the songs, and he basically recreated the mood and setting to suit the songs even. Nonetheless, this should be a prime live event, great singers (Serena Chong and May Mow) coupled with strong arrangement by Tay Cher Siang, and I am certain that there will a big screen with movie scenes to accompany the live performance.

June was another strong month for returns across the board. Red
ink was banished among the major asset classes for the third time this
year on a monthly calendar basis. What that meant was that investors are putting their funds to work, finally, this is just a small tide turning, as things stand still way too much liquidity is on the sidelines. Hence we may be surprised for a sustained surge plus higher volatility of course.

The big winner last month: emerging
market stocks, which climbed 2.7% on a total return basis in June–the
fifth straight monthly gain for this slice of equities. This was a significant trend as funds are finally willing to move to emerging markets equities alongside a pretty solid run in US stocks. If you note the monthly and YTD returns, the run up in emerging market stocks closely mirrors the oil prices.

Given the bullish tailwind, it’s no surprise to find that June was kind
to the Global Market Index (GMI), an unmanaged benchmark that holds all
the major a…

Have you heard of Wong Fu Productions? They are a bunch of Asian Americans trying to tear down stereotypes by making sensitive wonderful storytelling videos/films acted primarily by Asian Americans. We do not see so much of ourselves being portrayed by Western films and TV shows. There are Chinese (Vietnamese / Hindi / Tamil) movies and TV shows but what about those who speak mostly English. In many ways, their videos' popularity point to a huge number of us belonging to that category. Great storytelling, sensitive scripting ... I am sure they will be making a real full length movie soon. I mean, they already got Wang Lee Hom to do a short film with them.